About Captain Webb

Warren Brown stars as Captain Matthew Webb, a retired merchant seaman who survived fierce winds, treacherous currents and multiple jellyfish stings to swim from Dover to the shores of France, a crossing that took almost 22 hours and spanned 39 miles. The Channel would not be swum again for 36 years, and to this day more people have climbed Everest than successfully swum across the Channel.

Captain Webb's achievement is all the more remarkable given it came before the sport was a fully recognised industry; before the expertise and precautions found today had even been thought of and this remarkable film tells the story of one man's struggle to define himself. Beginning with Captain Webb diving into the water in Dover and concluding as he reaches the French coast, the film uses flashbacks to explore his motives and the character traits that drove him on as he braced high seas and furious winds.

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